What to do with three million dollars
by Logan27
Summary: My explanation of what happened just before the Vampire Diaries series finale ending montage (with the Klaroline letter) and before the Originals season 4 began. It continues a bit into that 4th season with what I think we might see.
1. Chapter 1

The events that led to this moment were unexpected for Caroline to say the least.

First, Hayley had shown up. Caroline wasn't fond of the woman and that was an understatement but she had a young girl with her and a truck full of coffin ridden Originals on death's door if she didn't help. Rebekah was the easy one to sort out. All she had to do was discuss the method with Rick and they were able to talk their girls through it.

"Okay, now put your hands on her."

"But mommy, she looks dead," came Lizzie's disgusted reply.

"Not really, sweetheart. She's like mommy and she's in a deep sleep. Now, please girls, put yours hands on her."

Reluctantly, both Lizzie and Josie did as they were instructed. Their little hands placed on Rebekah's room temperature arms. The cursed mark was on her forearm but that was the second step. An anxious Hayley paced some ten feet away.

"Do you feel that? She's like mommy only a little stronger." Alaric asked them.

"Yeah, daddy, she's like mommy but something's wrong with her."

Caroline and Rick exchanged glances and Caroline proceeded. "Well, that's what we're going to try and fix. Do you see that scar on her arm?" The girls nodded. "I need you to put your hands on that now." They both looked hesitant but did so anyway.

"What does it feel like? Can you sense that too?" Rick asked.

Josie was the one to answer. "It feels like crazy. Like cold and death and scary stuff. Hungry and dangerous like she's sick."

"That's exactly right. She _is_ sick, girls. Do you feel the difference? The difference between the magic that she has in common with mommy and the bad magic that is different that mommy doesn't have?" Caroline asked. The twins nodded. "Do you think you can take out only one of them and not all of the magic?" The little ones looked at each other and reached a silent consensus then nodded.

Hayley was still pacing which was driving Caroline nuts. It was hard to focus with her putting pressure on the whole situation. Even harder was getting Rick to agree to this in the first place. When Hayley had shown up to the Armory that they were preparing to renovate into a school for the young and "gifted", Rick's initial reaction had been to turn her away. Especially since she wanted help for Rebekah. The blonde Original had been no friend to them and rarely an ally. But Caroline made him focus on the little ginger haired six-year-old that the hybrid had in tow and Rick had softened.

The werewolf venom was something that Hayley said she could find herself so Caroline was putting her energy into this piece of the puzzle. A puzzle that she could have never seen happening. The news had shocked them. Rebekah with a hex driving her insane. Kol and Elijah bitten by a vampire that was somehow stronger than the Originals and more lethal. Freya, a sister that she had only heard about through Stefan from his visit to New Orleans when running from Rayna Cruz, had been poisoned. Klaus himself, the anchor that kept all of them clinging to life, their differing afflictions frozen so long as he had _his_ life. A life that was nothing but excruciating torture as Hayley described it. When Hayley relayed that part of the story, Caroline's heart skipped a beat and her stomach dropped as she forgot to breathe for several moments.

Klaus had been one of the strongest men she had ever known. He was fierce and cunning, one of the most powerful creatures on the planet. How had he been taken down? So much had happened in Louisiana that he had not told her. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Caroline had kept in contact with Klaus. A text here, a phone call there. They weren't frequent but enough that she was ashamed and felt the need to hide it.

He told her simple things like how he had a daughter. He reluctantly admitted who the mother was and quickly clarified that it had been the result of a meaningless one night stand. He told her about the city and all it's splendor. He told her of his plans to recapture control of it. Regain the Kingdom that was once his. With Liz Forbes' death however, their contact dwindled to nothing until she'd called Stefan's phone and a sultry British accent answered.

Emotions that she believed to be gone, rose up and nearly choked her. Almost everything he said had such deep meaning. The condolences for the loss of her mother and how Liz would have loved seeing her daughter with the twins. His quoting her verbatim about plans. His obvious double entendre when advising that it's not a crime to love what you cannot explain. Caroline was so surprised at how much she was horrified when he said goodbye, how desperately she wanted to ask him not to hang up. Stefan even filled her in later about how Klaus had known the Mystic Falls evacuation had been mainly due to her and how he'd known better when Stefan said she'd give up the babies to Alaric.

The memory of Klaus stuck in Elena's house before it was destroyed hit her. He'd known she hadn't wanted the cure. He knew how she loved being a vampire and how it had changed her for the better. He'd known the darkest parts of her and she hated to admit it. He'd known what she did- that deep down, they were the same. Klaus Mikaelson truly understood Caroline Forbes. In a way that no one else did.

Then, not long after Stefan's return, the texts and calls had stopped completely. He didn't initiate and he didn't respond either. Now Caroline knew why. The hybrid that had filled her with conflicting emotions almost since the moment she met him had been imprisoned, martyred himself to save those he loved. She'd seen the good in him before but after Hayley's recounting of the last few years, Caroline saw more than just good. She saw heroism, honor, loyalty and someone worthy of the love of others.

Hayley had known of the twin's ability to siphon because Stefan said their gestation and birth nearly killed his then girlfriend. That's why she'd come in that big moving truck of hers. And whatever else they might know that could help would be a bonus.

"Mommy, do you want us to take out the bad thing to make her feel better?" Lizzie asked, bringing Caroline back to the present.

"Yes, that's what we need you to do. Take out all the bad magic that's making her sick, everything that you can sense that isn't the same as what's in me."

"Done." Josie surprised everyone as she withdrew her small hand from the disappearing wound on Rebekah.

"What?" Hayley asked, her pacing abruptly ending in a halt and her eyes locking in on the girl.

"I did what Mommy and Daddy said. I took the bad stuff."

"All by yourself?" Alaric asked, looking concerned. He was looking her up and down as if he would be able to asses some kind of outer physical damage but there was none to be found.

"Yup," Josie said it as though it were the most simple thing in the world. Lizzie standing there looking perturbed because her sister had taken all the glory and would get all the praise. Resentment evident in every one of her features. That sibling rivalry would be one to rock the world but that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Hayley rushed over to the coffin, bent down and examined her "sister's" body. All signs of the hex seemed to be receding into nothingness. It had worked. One Original cured and three more family members to go.

"We might be able to help with Freya too." Bonnie's voice jarred everyone, making them look up. She was holding a book in her hands; an old one of course. "The wound and symptoms looked familiar. There seems to be a remedy in one of my family's old grimoires."

"But you hate the Originals," Caroline stood. "I didn't think you'd want anything to do with this."

"Yeah, well, Freya's not a vampire or a hybrid. She's a witch. Like me. And if nothing else, I'll help another witch."

Hayley released a puff of air in astounded relief and held back tears of joy. Hope, whom Bonnie had been babysitting during all this, came out from behind her.

"Are you sure you want to? You realize all this will ultimately free Klaus, right?" Caroline asked her friend just to be sure.

"Well don't talk her out of it." Hayley snapped.

"I'm sure, Care."

So that set in motion work on the healing of the second Mikaelson. It took some time. It took weeks actually. Bonnie had sent Hayley out scouting for the herbs and other ingredients she needed. Hayley had gone by her self, leaving her sleeping family and Hope at the Armory as she could work faster that way. During that time, Hope bonded not only with Bonnie but with Caroline, Lizze and Josie. The kids played together and it gave Caroline and Rick a sense of solace seeing these children, who'd been in the middle of supernatural turmoil since each of their births, so happy, healthy and carefree.

Bonnie realized some of Hope's abilities and began tutoring her. She quickly developed the skills for healing living creatures. Mostly just small bugs and rodents but it was a start. And Caroline saw to her non-magical education along side her girls. Just because Hope and her mother were on the run didn't mean Hope got to fall behind on her schooling. Alaric found humor in that. _Only Caroline_ , he thought with a shake of his head.

Caroline quickly realized that Hope was quite mature for her age and very intuitive; almost to the point of being psychic.

"You know my Daddy, don't you?" Hope asked one day.

Caroline hesitated for a moment but then nodded. "Yes, sweety, I do. Well, I _did_ anyway. Like you, I haven't seen him in a long time."

"But he's special to you."

The blonde's heart was pounding but she kept a calm exterior. "What makes you say that?"

"Because Mommy didn't think you'd help but you are. You're doing a lot to help and you're getting other people to help too. It's important to you that my Daddy comes back."

Shock was all Caroline managed.

"Mommy loves Uncle Elijah. She opens his box a lot and just looks at him. She says that Mommies and Daddies care for each other but they aren't always in love. So she loves Uncle Elijah... Does that mean you're the one my Daddy's in love with? Are _you_ in love with my _Dad_?"

Caroline gulped but decided to go with the truth. "Well, I know he was in love with me once. He said he'd wait for me however long it took but I don't know if he still wants to do that. It's been a long time, a lot has happened. And as far as me being in love with him-"

"Alright, so Hayley just called," Alaric interrupted coming in and breaking the air in the room, not realizing he had put a stop to such a revealing conversation. "She says she'll be back in a few days. Only one more thing to get and she knows where to go for it."

Caroline took a deep breath and cleared her throat, putting on a smile. "That's great! Do you hear that, Hope? Your Mommy is coming back."

The red head had a slight smile but didn't seem overly enthused. She was more disappointed that their talk had gotten cut off before she could get all the answers she wanted. It didn't bother her that her Mommy and Daddy didn't love each other but it would bother her if they weren't both happy with people they _are_ in love with. Hope wanted them to both be loved in return.

Caroline's relationship with this man named Alaric ( _such a funny name_ , she thought) confused her. Caroline wore a wedding ring but Alaric didn't. There was no one else around that Caroline could be married to and Lizzie and Josie were their daughters. They also worked together and they were building a school together. They lived together and seemed very close but something was off. They didn't feel what her Mommy felt for Elijah. That was a good thing. It meant that when her Daddy finally came back, he could be with Caroline. And she really liked Caroline.

Hope spent the next few days drawing pictures of her Daddy, Caroline, Josie and Lizzie, Uncle Elijah and her Mommy all standing by a house with a sun in a blue sky. Her aunts, Uncle Kol and Alaric were either in the background or absent all together.


	2. Chapter 2

...

Alright, there's Klaroline coming, I promise. Now don't get mad at me but I indulged a little look into Caroline's relationship with Alaric. I always felt that could have been such a beautiful relationship for her in the meantime before she and Klaus got together. I could never stomach her and Stefan but I understand a person will go through some weird methods of grieving and healing after a loss. No one is perfect and you do what you can to feel better, to keep going.

...

When Hayley walked in carrying a massive box to give to Bonnie, Caroline had been looking at her wedding ring.

The conceptualizing and start up preparations for the "Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted" had taken quite a while. At first, home base was the Salvatore manor itself and it remained a location for their offices and resources they felt should stay where they were later on. Damon and Elena had moved out and chosen a home of their own that was just theirs. Then Rick had decided that the Armory was better. The evil that had once resided there was gone and it had facilities for any number of projects they decided to take on for the needs of their students. Once all the objects with massive magical properties were moved into a sealed vault away from the girls, their syphon powers weren't going haywire and doing things like starting fires. Rick and Caroline chose rooms within the building right next to one another and next to their daughters' shared room.

This had all taken a year and a half and they were only now starting on renovations. Classrooms needed to be adjusted and equipped, safety measures needed to be taken so that little noses couldn't get into things and places they shouldn't, documentation and structure needed to be organized. All of it took money. Damon had quite a bit but things added up. Alaric put all of their savings in as well but that would only last so long.

So it had been a year and a half since Stefan died. A year and a half since their wedding. The ring on Caroline's finger had not come off since then. At first it was a reminder and source of great sadness, loss and heartbreak but after a while those feelings had dulled. She hadn't lied in that voicemail. She would always love Stefan, but unlike Elena after losing Damon, Caroline was able to carry on. She hadn't fallen apart. Not that she could anyway. Her girls needed her. She was now coming into the acceptance that she was glad she had loved and had been loved in return. And the man she had that with was a good man. He died a hero. She was proud of him.

Though, something that also helped with the pain of Stefan's absence was that there was a small part of her that still carried anger at things he'd done. In the end, he had chosen to exchange vows but it wasn't always that way. There were so many times he had chosen something else over her and sometimes it didn't even take much. In the beginning it was all about Elena. He had said "Caroline, it's never gonna happen" when referring to him and her. There was how long it took him to see how she felt about him. How long it took for him to decide he felt something for her. All the voicemails he hadn't listened to because he wanted to start a new life after Damon "died" with Bonnie. All the times he had walked away from her unsure of how he felt and what he wanted. Even his proposal, while sweet and thoughtful, was awkward and a bit hesitant.

She missed Stefan. His kindness and spirit would always radiate in her memories. She had loved his smile and his wisdom in moments she was freaking out about whatever the crisis. She would always appreciate that he had been in her life, how he made her grow and move forward to the next stage of who she was meant to be. Her love for him was more "epic" than the puppy love she felt for Tyler. They were special to her and integral parts of her heart and essential to her development in her capacity for love but she was slowly seeing life beyond both. What the future held she didn't know, but it didn't seem as dark as it once did.

That's why the wedding ring no longer caused her intense pain. It was slowly becoming just another piece of jewelry she wore. A mark of her past but not something that held her back or held her down. Like a battle wound that you're both proud of and were hurt by.

"That's everything," Hayley was telling Bonne, handing over the box. Caroline looked up from her finger with the diamond that still glistened in the sunlight coming through the window. Bonnie was struggling with the load easily carried by a hybrid but not so much by a witch with normal human strength.

Hayley rolled her eyes and took the box back and followed Bonnie into a back room where the witch had set up a magic space of sorts. A place she could try new spells, marking up the floor and stinking up the place with incense and potions. Meaning the door mostly stayed shut.

Several days and attempts later, Freya's injury was healed and color returned to her cheeks as she remained asleep with the others. The only thing left was to collect venom from all the werewolf lines to create a cure for Kol and Elijah. Hayley had found two but there were five remaining, one of which she thought might be impossible because she believed the last of that line to have been killed by Lucian. That's exactly what she was fretting over when Caroline approached her with a piece of paper in hand.

"What's this?" Hayley asked.

"Jeremy mentioned that he'd run into a couple packs while he's been away. Three of them. You've found one of them already but I don't think you have the other two. There are names and what little contact info he has for them on there. It's a start."

Hayley's mouth dropped and she just sat stunned for a moment. Suddenly, she was up on her feet and had Caroline in a bear hug. "Thank you so much, Caroline! You have no idea what this means to me."

In a strained voice, "I think I have an idea."

"Oh," Hayley released her. "Sorry."

That sent Hayley off again to call someone named Mary and hunt down (in the non-killing way) the packs on the list. Hope and the coffins again stayed behind. Both were in good hands. Bonnie continued working with Hope but there were powers that, at six, she still didn't have a handle on. Had Hayley not returned so soon with the venom needed and news of the fifth and sixth lines, Bonnie was sure she could have made more progress with the young witch. No luck yet on the seventh pack but Hayley was leaving with her daughter and the Mikaelsons anyway. She said they were going to a safe house but wouldn't say where for obvious reasons.

It was a heart-wrenching goodbye since everyone had gotten so attached to Klaus' little girl and she to them. It made Caroline ache when she saw tears streaming down the child's face, climbing into the passenger seat of the moving truck. Lizzie and Josie were bawling their eyes out too. Their new best friend was leaving and they didn't know when they would see her again. Hope had made drawings for all of them. The one for Caroline made her slightly uncomfortable because it made clear what Hope's ideal family looked like. It was the only one that didn't end up on their fridge but Caroline kept it in a drawer with another piece of artwork by a Mikaelson. There was a time years ago she'd made a copy of it to shred as a symbol of moving on but couldn't bring herself to destroy the real thing. She hadn't even gotten rid of it when she turned off her humanity.

So, there they sat together. The childlike crayon creation depicting her holding hands with Klaus, Lizzie and Josie, Elijah with Hayley, and Hope herself of course. And the more skilled and practiced pencil sketch of Caroline with a horse. She knew that she would never be able to part with either one and figuring out why that was... well, she didn't want to jump into that deep well of god-knows-what just yet.

Then there was Alaric. Since Stefan was gone and time had passed, things had slowly reverted back to how they were before, when she was engaged to Rick. They weren't engaged again or anything but they were in sync with almost every aspect of their lives. Not just with the girls but with the school and with things they liked to do when Bonnie babysat so they could get out into the adult world. Things like going out to a bar to have a drink or two, maybe take walks, a nice calm dinner, etc.

Caroline was worried that it was hurting him. As if all this time together was taunting him but she'd been selfish so far because she needed him for support. Spending time with Rick, being a team, it made sense. It was comfortable and soothing.

One evening he was sitting in front of one of the fireplaces on a couch. Drink in hand, he was just staring into the flames. The girls had gone to bed. Bonnie had gone back to traveling the world as she had been. Jeremy was at his apartment. All was quiet except for the crackle of the flames and Rick's steady breathing and heartbeat. All of which lulled Caroline onto the couch beside him and before she thought better of it, she leaned into him and laid her head on his shoulder. She was about to pull away, realizing it was probably a bad idea but his arm left the back of the couch and encircled her.

"It's okay, Caroline. Not everything has to be so clear cut and make perfect sense."

 _Geez, he was sounding a bit like Klaus_.

"I know what you feel and what you don't feel and I'm alright with it. I always have been." He was still looking into the flames as he took another sip of his scotch. "I'm alright with things being unclear and messed up, turned around..."

Caroline looked up, gazing at his profile. Once her High School history teacher, then her friend, then her college professor on top of that, then the father of her children... He's right; things _are_ messed up and turned around. It's all muddled and confusing 99% of the time. But the one thing that always remained consistent was how in awe of him she was.

Alaric Saltzman was so many things. He was a tremendous father, caring, loving, attentive to all three of them. He was smart and funny, great work ethic and a moral compass that was very close to her own. Stefan had been 168 or so but Alaric in his early 30's was the one that was maturely steadfast in where he stood and who he was. The man with over a century and a half of life was still forever trying to find himself whereas Rick seemed to always be so sure and comfortable in his own skin.

He tilted his head to the side to look back at her and gave her a small smile. "We'll be okay, no matter what. You know that?"

In that moment, that was exactly what Caroline needed to hear and again without thinking, she arched up and kissed him. It was gentle and chaste. It wasn't a foreign sensation. They'd kissed before. Many times. They hadn't exactly lived like monks while they'd been together even though they'd had separate rooms.

Memories flooded Caroline's mind...

Rick's offer of "stay as long as you want" turned into weeks and then months. One day, while burping Josie, Lizzie began to cry and he'd handed her over to Caroline saying, "Here, go to Mommy." He hadn't even realized he'd said it as he went over to scoop up the other baby. Caroline stood there holding Josie, absolutely stunned but heart-warmed. She truly did feel like these were her daughters too and the fact that Rick had named one after her late mother even before their co-habitation was amazing.

From that day on, if Rick found it odd referring to Caroline as their mom, he never showed it. He never acknowledged his slip up nor did he ask if she was comfortable with it. He was daddy and she was mommy and that's just how it was. It was weird but Caroline wasn't uncomfortable at all. She loved that he saw her as their other parent and not just a friend helping him raise them for a while.

There had been this unique bond that began to form between her and Alaric after she found out she was caring the twins. They hadn't made them together but seeing the ultrasounds together, listening to the heartbeats as you hold one another's hand... it does something. A connection is formed between two hearts whether romantic or not, there's an intimacy, a closeness to it. And after he started calling her their mom, she was so relieved because she could finally let her heart freely love them. She didn't have to hold back anymore. She couldn't explain it but as Klaus had said, she loved what she could not explain and it wasn't a crime.

Rick never made her feel like she didn't have a say in their upbringing. Miraculously to Caroline, he made sure everything was 50/50. Always discussed and decided together. He never pulled the "I'm their biological parent" card. Not once. That strengthened the bond between them.

Then one evening came when they had put the girls down for the night. They were maybe a year old at that point. Rick was sitting on the couch, much like he was doing now. He had been watching a movie. Which one, Caroline couldn't remember, but she settled in beside him. Resting her head on his shoulder that night, years ago now, was easy. It wasn't weird at all... but what happened next had been new territory.

He'd put his arm around her. A few minutes later, they slowly interlaced their fingers, each being tentative in case it was too much or wrong and the other wanted to pull away. Kind of like when you're in middle school and you're on a "date" at a movie theater and you both put your hand on the armrest between you. You slowly slip into holding hands but you both pretend you're watching the movie and that the gesture isn't consuming your every thought. It was like that.

Their fingers interlaced, his other arm wrapped around her and she snuggled closer to him. But instead of pretending to watch the movie, at that point they looked at one another. Alaric had leaned down slowly and Caroline met him in the middle. It had all been so new. She'd never really thought of him this way before but after they started kissing, there was no going back to being oblivious. Soft and tentative at first but he pulled her in tighter and it dawned on her that she was attracted to him. There was something there. Had she not experienced the kind of heat and passion she did with Klaus and then Stefan, mostly Klaus ' _cause good god did a thousand years experience really show_! she would have thought this thing with Alaric was amazing. In comparison, not so much.

That first time was only so heart pounding because a part of her did still see him as her former teacher and she felt like she was doing something naughty. He was a "grown up" and this was so "bad". It excited her. It was new and that's what drove it initially.

It wasn't long before she was straddling him, making out. Her cheeks were flushed and she loved the feel of being held against a grown male body again. Stefan may have been a lot older but his body was still that of a teenager. A great looking and fit teenager but a teen none the less. Alaric had big strong hands, masculine stubble, sensual lips. She'd only been sexual with one other person with a similar adult physique.

How attracted Alaric was at that moment had been very evident to Caroline. There was no mistaking his body's reaction to her. Things were getting hot and more aggressive.

"Stop," Alaric had said a little out of breath.

"What's wrong?" Caroline had been breathing heavy too.

"We need to slow down. I don't want you to jump into anything. I want you to be sure. It's late and maybe you're tired and just not yourself."

"Do I look tired?"

They'd gone back to passionately kissing and then moving against one another before Alaric stopped yet again.

"Caroline, you need to take some time to think things through."

"Just me?"

Alaric had looked up at her. "Yes. Just you. I already know this is what I want but I need you to be sure it's what you want too."

That had blown Caroline away. This concept hadn't been new to him. He'd already thought of her in this way and hadn't been surprised by a sudden onset of attraction that night. It had already been there.

Caroline had nodded and slowly dismounted. She thought of staying to watch the rest of the movie but knew that wouldn't end well so she muttered something about going to bed and he said he should probably do the same. She had the hardest time sleeping last night. Her life was changing. She had never been in this stage of things before. After having been turned, she had accepted she would never have children and a normal family life was out of reach for her. But then it wasn't. It was right in front of her. More than that, she was _in_ it. It had arrived and she found herself in a very adult situation. The realization dawned on her that it didn't scare her. She was ready for this and she was happy about it. Massively hurt by and pissed off at Stefan still but this new development took her mind off it quite a bit.

That's how it would happen. It would start with cuddling on the couch and then morph into hands all over each other, kissing each other senseless. Again, not the explosive kind she'd had before but it was pretty good. A few times it began in the kitchen. It didn't take long before it went further, ending up in her room since it was farthest from little ears.

It occurred to Caroline that she was sleeping with him here and there because it was convenient. A girl had needs and it made perfect sense. She was attracted to him, they lived together, he was the father of their children, and so on. However, she still did make it clear that she wanted her own space, as in keeping their separate rooms. She had seen how he was falling and felt bad because she wasn't. She wasn't in love with Alaric but what they had was still very special and safe.

He'd proposed in the most romantic way. _Come to think of it, it was a lot more romantic and thought out than both of Stefan's proposals_. Alaric had t-shirts printed up for Lizzie and Josie to wear under their coats so when they got home one day and Caroline was unzipping them, Josie's shirt read "Will you..." and Lizzie's read "marry me?" Caroline had turned around to see Rick down on one knee with the most beautiful ring. It was her style too. The cut she loved, the metal, all of it.

"Yes!" She'd said. She loved their "little family" and it made sense.

"Oh darn." Alaric had seemed so disappointed. When Caroline looked confused, he went on. "I mean, that was so easy. I had all this other stuff planned but now there's no point." He was teasing her. She smiled and playfully swatted at him. "Do you want to see everything anyway?"

"There's really more?"

"Of course there is, Caroline."

Rick sent the giddy girls to their room for bed though he'd known they wouldn't sleep after hearing that Mommy and Daddy would be getting married. After that he'd led Caroline to his room that he'd decorated with strings of glittering lights giving the room a beautiful faint glow, and copies of photos from all her albums. Smiling faces of people she loved and cared for, pictures of her when she was so happy she thought she could burst. But there were also pictures of times in her life that were sad, when she and her friends had lost someone or something tragic happened. It was such a mixture. And that's when she figured it out. It was a timeline wrapped around the room. A timeline of them with little notes pinned into the wall beside photos.

"We met as acquaintances." He pointed to a picture from a school event that happened to have both of them in it. Not exactly standing together but they were both in frame. "Then we became allies." Her eyes followed his finger as it moved across to two other pictures. Each of them training with a crossbow. "Then friends." There followed a photo of them laughing together. "We've had friends," he pointed at a group photo from graduation, "and enemies" he pointed to a picture of Katherine, "through exes" there was a picture of Meredith Fell and Tyler, "and those that just flat out baffled us", there was one of Klaus.

Piece by piece he walked her through the life they had already shared. The touching things they had in common. "I'm also grateful that you forgave me for that one time I tortured you by sticking pencils through your hands." Caroline burst out laughing. Their lives had truly been crazy. One wild ride and they had stuck by one another just as they stuck by the rest of their friends.

Alaric had taken her hands. "I know your past, I know who you are now and I know the kind of person you're evolving into and I want every part of it. You're insanely smart, outrageously funny, sassy enough to keep me in my place, beautiful inside and out, the best mother to our girls. Caroline, I love and adore every bit of you. You make me feel lucky to be alive and all I want to do is everything I can to make you just as happy for as long as I'm alive."

Even though she wasn't in love with him, Caroline had teared up that day. She let herself get swept up in the moment and again said, "Yes!" He finally put the ring on her finger and twirled her around the room. In that moment, Caroline felt like everything was right. That, at least for the next several decades, they belonged together. Living their quiet life, with their beautiful girls and hopefully grandchildren and great-grand children. Even though she didn't have a fiery passion for this man, he did make her happy. She was at peace around him and after all they'd both been through, that was a great blessing. It may not seem like much to others but Caroline and Alaric knew just how fortunate they were.

Of course the one thing Caroline both loved and hated about Rick is that he noticed everything when it came to her. Even though he never said anything, he knew she didn't feel what he did. But he never made her feel guilty for it. He focused only on doing exactly what he said he would- making her happy. She felt loved and protected. Even though she was technically the stronger of the two, she felt she was safe in his care.

So, now that they were in the Armory sitting in front of the fireplace, Caroline reached back to that time when pretend was okay because it made them both happy in different ways. She kissed him now like she use to. And just as it use to, the kiss deepened. It had been so long since anyone had touched her this way and she desperately needed it and with someone she trusted. Being with Alaric was always soothing and she needed to be soothed. She needed to feel.

Alaric then carried her to his room and they fell into an old habit. No proposals this time. No promises, no declarations of love or commitment. None of this needed to make sense because comfort came in many forms and no one could judge them if this is what they needed in the moment.

The next morning, Caroline carefully placed her wedding ring in a box and tucked it away in a safe place. She felt rejuvenated and didn't feel the need to wear it anymore. Who knew what the future held? At least she could honestly say she was ready for it... that is, until a letter came that changed everything yet again.


End file.
